


This could be the start of something good

by Aces_and_Roses



Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Sharing a Bed, Spooning, god it's just... pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 01:35:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21579361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aces_and_Roses/pseuds/Aces_and_Roses
Summary: Zolf was under no illusion that the romance novels he read were in any way true to life. That wasn’t why he read them, after all. In fact, it was pretty much exactly the opposite; they provided a much-needed escape from the real world, to a place where the biggest concern was whether or not two people ended up together (and whether they should, Jennifer). But that didn’t stop them from… having an impact, was perhaps the best way to put it, on what he knew about romance, no matter how aware he was of the lack of realism.
Relationships: Hamid Saleh Haroun al-Tahan/Zolf Smith
Comments: 12
Kudos: 105





	This could be the start of something good

Zolf was under no illusion that the romance novels he read were in any way true to life. That wasn’t why he read them, after all. In fact, it was pretty much exactly the opposite; they provided a much-needed escape from the real world, to a place where the biggest concern was whether or not two people ended up together (and whether they _should, Jennifer_ ). But that didn’t stop them from… having an impact, was perhaps the best way to put it, on what he knew about romance, no matter how aware he was of the lack of realism.

That was all to say that, once he and Hamid took the time and actually had a conversation regarding the elephant in the room (read: the feelings they had both been dancing around for so long they’d nearly had trouble figuring out how to stop), Zolf couldn’t help but feel that he was at least a bit prepared for what their newfound relationship would entail. And he hadn’t been entirely wrong, there were aspects of it that he had been much more familiar with than he would have been otherwise (given the rather limited scope of his romantic experience). But there were other things, small things, things that had never occurred to him (or to Harrison Campbell, evidently), that he quickly found he wasn’t prepared for in the least. As he and Hamid settled down to sleep together (not in that way, of course; Zolf’s asexuality had been among the first things discussed at the beginning of their fledgling romance) for exactly the third time, Zolf was abruptly reminded of that fact.

He didn’t know what to do.

The first time he and Hamid had shared a bed had been accidental, really. They’d been in Hamid’s room talking late into the night, and although Zolf had fully intended to return to his own room to sleep, neither of them had wanted to stop. So they just… didn’t, and before Zolf knew it he had woken up hours later to find himself overheating, Hamid sprawled on top of him, head pillowed on his chest. But however happy he was to have woken up in the same bed as Hamid (who was clinging to him like a particularly grabby octopus), and however much he wanted to stay there forever, he just couldn’t. Because Hamid was a furnace in the shape of a halfling, and there was no way that Zolf would ever be able to fall back asleep in that position. So instead, he gently pushed Hamid off of him, settling him down just far enough that they weren’t touching and, in a moment of panic that Hamid would take the distance the wrong way when he woke up, grabbed his hand, before finally falling back to sleep.

The second time was significantly less accidental, but no less awkward for it. Mostly because they weren’t nearly as exhausted, so instead of just sort of… passing out, they had to actually figure out what they were doing. After an almost painfully awkward few minutes of shifting and shuffling, they finally ended up in what they both thought was an at least sensible position, Hamid’s back to Zolf’s front, Zolf’s arm draped over Hamid’s waist. And to say that it was just sensible would be to do it a disservice; Zolf, at least, thought it was wonderfully comfortable (Hamid’s furnace-like tendencies being much more bearable when Zolf wasn’t trapped between him and the mattress). Until they fell asleep. In what couldn’t have been more than an hour, Zolf was startled awake by the feeling of Hamid thrashing in his arms (and of a solid elbow to the stomach, not that he would ever tell Hamid that), followed quickly by the sound of something heavy hitting the floor. His eyes snapped open, and he sat up, peering over the side of the bed to where Hamid sat, looking somewhat dazed, on the floor.

Turned out, Hamid couldn’t stand feeling trapped while he slept, so as nice and secure as he had felt wrapped up in Zolf’s arms while awake, when he was asleep it was a different story.

So needless to say, Zolf was more than a little apprehensive about trying again. It wasn’t as though he thought it would be the end of the world if they couldn’t find a suitable way to sleep in the same bed. He knew it would be fine, that they would be fine (even as he had to studiously ignore the little voice in the back of his head whispering that, if he and Hamid couldn’t even figure out something as simple as sharing a bed, their relationship could never survive), logically at least. Which was why, when late that night he had muttered something about going back to his room and Hamid had oh so quietly asked him if he wanted to stay, Zolf couldn’t exactly deny him (didn’t really want to, if he was being honest, despite his worries).

Surprisingly, it didn’t take them very long to settle down. Hamid seemed to have had an idea, at some point between the last, rather disastrous, attempt and this one. Within moments of them lying down, he was already tugging at Zolf’s arm, maneuvering him into whatever position he wanted him to be in. Said position being a complete reversal from the last time, with Hamid curled behind Zolf, an arm draped over him, holding him close.

It was nice. Nicer than Zolf would have expected, if he’d ever really thought about it (he would have assumed it would be uncomfortable, given how much smaller than him Hamid was). But Hamid was warm, and the arm over his waist made him feel… secure. Safe. He found himself relaxing into it almost instantly, and probably couldn’t have stopped himself from falling sound asleep if he tried (not that he would have).

He didn’t wake until morning, the rays of sunlight slanting through the window into his eyes stirring him from his slumber. Hamid was still tucked up against his back, face pressed between his shoulder blades, snoring quietly.

It was the best sleep he’d had in a very long time.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr at redactedquill if anyone wants to shoot me a prompt!


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